3 min readJun 12, 2026 07:05 AM IST
First published on: Jun 11, 2026 at 11:56 PM IST
Spanish giants Real Madrid on Thursday announced the appointment of Jose Mourinho as their senior team coach. This 2ill be Mourinho’s second stint at Real after he had earlier spent 3 seasons starting in 2010. However, his time then was generally considered a disappointment, with only one La Liga title and one King’s Cup to his name among the three main competitions.
In his earlier stint, Mourinho managed some of the world’s best players in Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas among others. In his current stint, he will be again be in charge of a Madrid squad comprising the best players of this generation including Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr. among others.
“The Board of Directors of Real Madrid CF, meeting today Thursday, June 11, and chaired by Florentino Pérez, has agreed to appoint José Mourinho as first team coach for the next three seasons, until June 30, 2029. José Mourinho will join Real Madrid on July 13, the day the preseason begins,” Real said in a statement.
This comes after a day when Mourinho’s last club Benfica had announced that Real Madrid had expressed their intention to hire the Portuguese, stating that the coach has already agreed to the move.
“Real Madrid CF has formally expressed its intention to hire Jose Mourinho for 15 million euros ($17.31 million), and that the manager has agreed to the move,” Benfica said in a statement.
The Portuguese side also confirmed that Marco Silva will replace Mourinho as their new manager.
Florentino Perez had pledged to bring the Portuguese manager back to the club, where he had previously coached from 2010 to 2013, provided he was re-elected at Real president.
Perez secured his position on Monday after surviving the club’s first genuine presidential contest in two decades. Real have come away empty handed over the past two seasons, during which Barcelona have secured back-to-back LaLiga titles.
A couple of days ago, Real had confirmed that they have parted ways with head coach Alvaro Arbeloa after reaching a mutual agreement.
Arbeloa, a former Real defender who had previously coached the club’s youth and reserve sides, was appointed in January to replace compatriot Xabi Alonso and guided the 15-times European champions to a second-place finish in LaLiga.
Alonso had left after a Spanish Super Cup defeat by Barcelona, but Arbeloa also struggled to steady a fractured dressing room as the team’s form declined.
“Real Madrid C. F. and Alvaro Arbeloa have reached an agreement to end his time as coach of the first team,” the club said in a statement.
“Real Madrid is very grateful to Alvaro Arbeloa, who throughout his career at the club, since he arrived at our youth academy, has always shown loyalty, commitment and professionalism. He represents an example of the values of our club.”
(With agency inputs)
Benfica's head coach Jose Mourinho. (PHOTO: AP) 
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